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Research Grants Awarded To Establish 12 Centers of Research

Los Angeles- There were grants of over $221 million dollars announced to the public on Wednesday. It is the largest chunk of funding that has ever been awarded by the program in California, which is taxpayer supported.

The program in California is scheduled to spend nearly $ 3 billion dollars over the next ten years on Stem Cells and Stem Cell Research efforts.

The facilities, research labs and Universities that are receiving the money are announcing plans to try and match much of the funding, with additional funds in the amount of $ 560 million dollars to assist in construction and establishment of 12 centers for Stem Cell research in California.

The current Bush administration restricts federal funding of research that uses human embryonic stem cells that were created after August 2001. Embryonic stem cells involve the destruction of human embryos, and has caused a great deal of controversy.

Because of the federal restrictions no money can be shared with stem cell programs that use material after August 2001. Hence the push for this California based funding.

All this may be changing depending on the next presidential administration. All of the main candidates have expressed similar types of support for human stem cell research activity.